Shimuwini is a Shangaan word for "Place of the Baobab Tree". The camp is so named because the nearby Letaba River which fronts the cottages, is lined with these huge trees, one of them estimated to be between 2 000 and 3 000 years old. Shimuwini Bushveld Camp is the most modern of the bushveld camps, being completely rebuilt after the floods in 2000.